The ghosts that we knew

Chapter 13

~And I was broke

I was on my knees

But you said yes

as I said please~

Opening the door to their quarters, Riddick merely lifted an eyebrow at the destruction.

He found her hidden in the shadows.

"You can't hide from the animal within, Carolyn. I know. I've tried."

"Because you were born different, men will fear you and try to drive you away," she murmured, the words barely reaching his ears.

"But I know you weren't born that way, Carolyn. You were made."

"I am what I am. It doesn't matter how." Her voice was low and rough from the screaming she had done to release her frustration from having been denied the kill.

She made the mistake of stepping within his reach. The next thing she knew, she was shoved up against the wall with her hands pinned over her head.

He snarled in her face causing her to struggle to get away from him as he began to fumble with her clothing.

Turned out it was also the distraction she needed to get away from him.

Carolyn stood on the other side of the room. "Made, not born. Remember," she sneered, "Get out, Riddick. ."

Turned out, Riddick was actually faster than her and had her pinned on the ground sitting on top of her in the blink of an eye.

He reached up and grabbed her gown by the neck rendering it in two down to her hips.

Reaching up, she grabbed a fistful of shirt with her hand bringing his mouth crashing down upon hers. Slipping his hands under her arms he picked her up as he stood, holding on as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Throwing her down on the bed, they wrestled her ruined clothes off of her before attacking his. Falling on the bed with her, he braced himself above her as he nuzzled her ear before pulling back to look at her.

"Carolyn?"

Her eyes met his and after searching his face for a moment her lids fluttered close as she rubbed his nose with hers, searching for his lips.

"Who am I?" He asked gruffly.

"You're Riddick." She whispered. "Just Riddick."

Good enough for now he thought, his mouth lowering on hers.

Someone knocking on their door got Riddick's attention and slipping from the bed, he pulled on his pants that were on the floor beside it. Carolyn had sat up and was watching him, her eyes still slightly red and swollen from crying and her lips red and swollen from his.

Riddick answered the door to discover Lady Toal, who gave a slight curtsey before handing a package to him.

"Lady Riddick must make an appearance today. It is our way. I brought some items that she might be ready to wear."

Riddick nodded and shut the door, walking back to the bedroom, tossing the package on the bed.

"Evidently there's no rest for the wicked." He said with a leer crawling over the bed to get to her.

Months later…

Carolyn sat in their quarters pushing what passed for dinner around on her plate. To say that things had gotten tense since her fight with Dame Vaako would be an understatement. Even though she went about her usual activities, she no longer felt safe doing so. Vaako had extended his personal guards to both her and Riddick, but she knew he was feeling the pressure as well. He and Riddick met here on a regular basis late at night while the Basilica was at its quietest.

Riddick had something up his sleeve but wasn't saying, no matter how persuasive she got, and she had got pretty persuasive.

She pushed away from the table slowly pacing the room anxious to see him. Dame Toal had insisted that she go to some meeting with the Women's Council to discuss housing issues within the fleet. She had gotten back late and her head still throbbed from the endless droning. She could only guess that the two men got caught up in whatever meeting they had going on tonight.

Tired of pacing, she flopped down on a couch, dragging her long dress up her legs and propping her feet up on the table in front of her before leaning her head back and closing her eyes.

A pounding on the door startled her and she sat up looking around the room lost for a moment. The pounding started again and she jumped slightly before making her way to the door.

The door slid open to reveal Vaako. Carolyn gasped taking a step back into the room as she looked at his face. She had never seen him look so dark before. What worried her most though was the blood on his hands.

"Vaako" she whispered taking another step backwards. "Where's Riddick?"

"Vakko, have you lost your Necro mind? What the hell is wrong with you?" Carolyn demanded as he kept hold of her arm, leading her through the ship.

"We don't have much time," he hissed back at her rounding yet another corner.

"Wait. Why are we heading towards the docking bays?" Carolyn asked as she finally recognized her surroundings.

Vaako didn't answer just picked up his pace and the hold on her arm, as they got closer to the bays.

As they entered the bay walk Carolyn saw Dame Toal standing near one of the bay doors, several bags at her feet.

Carolyn grasped the woman's chilled hand looking between the two of them. "What is going on?"

Dame Toal and Vaako exchanged a look as Vaako opened the ships hatch.

Carolyn turned to see a tied, bloody, beaten and unconscious Riddick on the plate deck. "No!" she cried out as she rushed to his side. "What happened?"

"He saved his life," Dame Toal answered as she dropped the bags just inside the hatch, "and you don't have much time."

"Please, what is going on?" Carolyn pleaded.

Vaako yanked her to her feet. "The War Council wants him dead. They did this without my knowledge. As soon as Dame Toal told me what was happening, I intervened. You've got to get him off this ship now, Carolyn. I can no longer protect him or you. As long as he doesn't attempt to come back, they will leave him peace. I can't guarantee that if he should try to reclaim the throne."

Tears in her eyes, Carolyn grasped his armor, nodding her head at what he was telling her. "Thank you, Vaako."

"You need to go, Carolyn."

Carolyn reached out for Dame Toal and took her hand once again. "Thank you, both."

Dame Toal squeezed her hand with a smile before walking away.

Carolyn took one last look at Vaako before making her way to the pilot's seat.

She heard the hatch close followed by a loud bang and without a seconds hesitation ignited the engines and disengaged from the larger ship. Her only goal at the moment to get away from the fleet, she randomly plugged in a course and was nothing but an ion trail in minutes.

Dame Toal and Commander Vaako watched until the ship was gone before looking at each other and making their way back towards the Basilica.